holders, devices and methods for storing identification information, such as but not limited to driver's licenses, insurance and vehicle registration and safety tip information for quick and easy retrieval from storage containers that can be mounted in easy to reach and clearly visible locations for vehicle drivers, such as but not limited to being mounted on steering wheel columns, where the storage locations are clearly visible to outside law officers approaching a vehicle.
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1. A vehicle storage container for storing and providing easy to retrieve driver identification documents, consisting in combination of:
a plurality of card shaped transparent sleeves, each sleeve having closed sides and a closed bottom and a single open top end, the plurality of sleeves being hinged to one another along each closed bottom, each of the sleeves being used for holding the driver identification documents, and a tab attached to and extending out from each single open top end of each of the sleeves;
a single cover flap consisting of one side edge hinged to one of the sleeves, for folding about a front side of the plurality of sleeves, and a transparent plastic magnifying lens for use in enlarging the driver identification documents when any of the driver identification documents are removed from the sleeves,
a single base holder consisting of closed sides, a closed bottom end and a single opposite open end for accessing inside of the holder, a front wall and a rear wall, the front wall having a shorter height portion than the rear wall, wherein the hinged closed bottoms of the plurality of sleeves in a folded generally flat position with the cover flap folded over the front side of the plurality of sleeves is inserted into the open end of the base holder, so that the tab is exposed from the open end of the base holder, and the plurality of sleeves in the folded generally flat position with the cover flap folded is completely removable from the base holder by the tab; and
a strap for attaching the base holder about a steering wheel post so that the base holder is on top of the steering wheel post inside and is safely visible from outside of the vehicle, and so that a vehicle driver hands retrieving the plurality of card shaped sleeves are adapted to be safely visible from outside of the vehicle.
2. The vehicle storage container of
the plurality of sleeves includes:
a bifold having two sleeves; and
the tab extending from an open end of one of the two sleeves for allowing the bifold to be pulled out of the base holder.
3. The vehicle storage container of
the plurality of sleeves includes:
four sleeves, for each holding one of the driver identification documents; and
a safety card providing instruction information after being stopped by law enforcement.
4. The vehicle storage container of
a first end with hooks; and
a second end with loops, for allowing the strap to adjust to different diameter steering wheel posts.
5. The vehicle storage container of
a first end with a length adjustment buckle; and
a second free end for insertion into the buckle for allowing the strap to be length adjustable to different diameter steering wheel posts.
6. The vehicle storage container of
7. The vehicle storage container of
8. The vehicle storage container of
a reusable fastener for allowing the base holder to be removed from the strap, so that the base holder with the plurality of sleeves can be removed by the driver when the vehicle is parked.
9. The vehicle storage container of
11. The vehicle storage container of
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This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/367,862 filed Jul. 28, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its' entirety.
This invention relates to accessing identification information, and in particular to holders, devices and methods for storing identification information, such as but not limited to driver's licenses, insurance and vehicle registration and safety information that can be stored in transparent sleeves, for easy retrieval from storage containers that can be mounted in easy to reach locations for vehicle drivers, such as being mounted on top of steering wheel columns, where the storage locations are clearly visible to outside law officers approaching a vehicle.
There have been numerous cases of motor vehicle traffic stops by law enforcement which have resulted in serious injuries and even death. Generally, law enforcement officers have become increasingly suspicious when approaching a vehicle that may have just been stopped for an alleged traffic violation, such as speeding, expired registration, and the like. During these stops, law enforcement officers approaching the driver's side or passengers side of the vehicle need to request identification documentation from the driver and/or passenger(s). This request for identification documentation generally requires the driver and/or the passenger to have to reach into their pants pockets or shirt pockets, or jackets or under their seats or into their glove boxes to obtain their identification documentation.
Depending upon the circumstances, whether it be at night, at lonely stretches of the road, etc. the law enforcement officers can become increasingly suspect of the driver and/or passenger intentions. This suspicion can be heightened when the law enforcement officers are not able to see the hands of the driver and/or passenger while they reach to retrieve their identification documentation.
In recent years there have been an increasingly amount of serious harmful accidents have occurred where the officers shot and either injured or killed the driver or the front seat passenger based on misreading the driver and/or the passenger's intentions. This heightened sense of suspicion by officers has increased substantially in recent years based on mistakes by the law enforcement officers when interpreting the actions of drivers and/or their passengers that are stopped. Also, this heightened sense of suspicion by law enforcement has also increased based on the increasing amount of harmful attacks on law enforcement officers, as well as the increase in persons possessing firearms on or near their person.
The conflict that occurs is that the driver and/or front passenger needs to provide identification documentation promptly to the law enforcement officer in a safe manner without being shot, and without raising the suspicion that they are a threat to the law enforcement officers by allowing their hands remain visible during the retrieval of the identification documentation.
Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior art.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide holders, devices and methods for storing identification documentation, such as but not limited to driver's licenses, insurance and vehicle registration, for easy retrieval from storage containers that can be mounted in easy to reach locations for vehicle drivers, such as being mounted on top steering wheel columns/posts, and the like.
A secondary objective of the present invention is to provide for easy retrieval of identification documentation, such as driver's licenses, insurance and vehicle registration, from a driver or passenger, from easy to retrieve locations clearly visible to law enforcement officers outside of the vehicle, which allows the retriever's hands to remain continuously visible to the officer.
A third objective of the present invention is to provide for easy retrieval of identification documentation, such as driver's licenses, insurance and vehicle registration, from a driver or passenger, without storing the identification documentation in a non-visible location to a law enforcement officer outside of the vehicle, such as under the seat, in one's pocket(s) or in a glove box, and the like.
A fourth objective of the present invention is to provide for easy retrieval of safety information for a driver or passenger to provide information on what to do when being stopped by a law enforcement officer, where the safety information is easily retrievable by the driver or passenger, and the storage of the safety information is clearly visible to a law enforcement officer approaching the vehicle.
The invention can allow for driver identification documentation that includes a driver's license, insurance card and vehicle registration card to be stored in transparent sleeves of a card holder that can include a bifold holder, tri-fold holder, four-fold holder, and the like. The card holder can be insertable and removable from a base cover type sleeve, where a tab on the card holder allows for easy retrieval of the card holder from the base cover sleeve.
A fastener, such as but not limited to a hook and loop fastener can allow for a base cover which holds removable bifold or trifold card sleeves to be easily mounted at different orientations to the top of a length adjustable strap that can be wrapped about a steering column of a vehicle. The base cover can be mounted in a location on top of the strap that is wrapped about the steering wheel post/column that is both easily reachable by the driver, as well as be visible to anyone approaching the driver's side or passenger side of the vehicle, and the location will allow the driver retrieving the vehicle identification cards to have their hands remain completely visible during retrieval of the vehicle identification cards.
An officer observing the driver or passenger retrieving the card holder with vehicle identification information cards can remain confident of a safe environment to complete their required inquiry and disposition of the card retrieval. The invention promotes increased safety for both the law enforcement officers and vehicle drivers and vehicle passengers.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments which are illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.
Before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applications to the details of the particular arrangements shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
In the Summary above and in the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification does not include all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally.
In this section, some embodiments of the invention will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and prime notation is used to indicate similar elements in alternative embodiments.
A list of components will now be described.
Referring to
The base cover 40 can have a slightly larger dimension than the sleeves 10, 20. The base cover can have a sleeve shape with front and rear faces 42, closed sides 43, closed bottom 44, and open end 45 which is large enough to allow for the folded bifold holder 1 to be inserted therein. Once inserted the bifold 1 can be retrieved by pulling it out of the base cover 40 with the pull tab 30. The base cover 40 can be made from plastic, nylon, vinyl, leather, and fabric, and the like. The front and/or rear faces 42 can be transparent so that the stored sleeves 10 of the bifold is visible inside or be opaque. On one of the front or rear faces of the base cover 40 can be a reusable fastener 50, such as hook and loop fasteners, snap fasteners, self-stick surface, and the like.
Referring to
The reusable fastener 50 allows for the driver to easily remove the card holder 1 and base cover 40 when the vehicle stops, so that the card holder 1 and base cover 40 can easily be place in one's pocket for safe keeping and when traveling on foot.
While the preferred embodiment allows for a reusable fastener 50 to attach the card holder 1 and base cover 40 on top of a strap 60. The base cover can be fixably adhered to the top of the strap.
In a preferred application, when a vehicle is stopped by a law enforcement officer, the driver can put their hands on top of the steering wheel. When the officer requests driver's license, insurance card and registration card, the driver can then remove the four-folder card holder 160 from the base cover 150, which is attached to the top of the steering wheel post 120 by strap 60, as previously shown in
The driver can hand the four-folder card holder 160 to the law enforcement officer, and the officer would have the complete package of a driver's license, insurance card and registration card. The transparent sleeves 162, 164, 166, 168 would allow the officer to easily be able to see the driver's license, insurance card and registration card without having to remove the cards from the sleeves. The labelled tabs on the sleeves clearly identify the driver's license, insurance card and registration card. Additionally, the recesses on top of each of the sleeves 162, 164, 166, 168 would also assist the officer in being able to easily extract the driver's license, insurance card and registration card from the sleeves.
The sleeve holder 160 would be restricted to those cards which would avoid the officer from having to request the driver remove their cards, which occurs when the driver has a traditional wallet that has currency, credit cards, and the like.
The sleeve holder 160 gives the driver peace of mind for safely and securely providing the necessary personal identification documents (driver's license, insurance card and registration card) to the officer, all while allowing the driver to keep their hands visible to the driver when the law enforcement officer approaches the vehicle and all the way through the driver providing the necessary personal identification documents to the officer.
The closed four card holder 170 and base cover 150 can be similarly attached to the top of the strap 60 with the reusable fastener 50 and the strap attached about the steering wheel post/column with the card holder 170 easily retrievable by the driver while remaining visible to law enforcement officers approaching the vehicle.
The invention can be packaged in a kit which can includes the card holder having sleeves for a driver's license, vehicle insurance card and vehicle registration card to remain visible, along with a base case (sleeve) to put the card holder into. The kit can include a strap and a reusable fastener which allows for attaching the card holder and base cover on a top of the strap, so that the strap can be wrapped about a steering wheel post/column with the card holder and base cover on top of the steering wheel post/column to allow for easy retrieval while keeping the card holder and base cover continuously visible to someone outside the driver's window of the vehicle.
The kit can come with a safety instructions card providing safety tip instructions to the driver of what to do when an officer pulls over or stops the vehicle. The safety tip information to the driver can include, but not be limited to the following instructions:
1. The driver needs to pull over their vehicle as quickly and safely as possible once a law enforcement officer wishes to stop their vehicle. If already stopped, the driver must not attempt to move their vehicle.
2. The driver and their passengers need to lower their vehicle windows.
3. The driver needs to place both their hands on top of the steering wheel. The front passenger needs to place both their hands on the dashboard. Any rear passengers must also place their hands on the seat back in front of them so that their hands remain completely visible.
4. The driver and all passengers must stay inside the vehicle and not leave.
5. The driver and all passengers need to follow and obey all instructions by the law enforcement officers, and NOT argue and NOT fight with the officers.
6. The driver needs to communicate to the officers that their identification information (drivers license, vehicle registration and vehicle insurance) are located in the card holder that is in the sleeve (case) on the steering wheel column (or on the dashboard), and request permission to remove the card holder to access their identification information.
7. The driver and all passengers need to communicate with the officers if they have any weapons in the vehicle, such as but not limited to firearms, etc. and if they have a firearm permit.
8. The driver and passengers must continue to obey and follow the officer's directions and requests, and continue to not argue and not fight with the officers until the officer allows them to leave.
Another version of the safety tip instructions that can be provided to the driver can include the following placed on a card that can be placed in the safety labelled sleeve in the holder. On the front of the card can be the following instructions:
Traffic Stop Dos
On the back of the safety tips card can be the following:
Traffic Stop Don'ts
When not being used inside the vehicle, the driver can pull the card holder out and use it as bill fold to be placed in their pocket or pocket book, and the like. The card holder can also be used as a wallet to hold money, credit cards, etc.
Although the invention is described as being mounted to a steering column, the novel invention can be mounted to a dashboard top surface, front surface, vehicle inside door, or other interior surfaces, which are within easy reach of the driver, and remain visible to a law enforcement officer approaching the vehicle.
While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has presumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended.
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